William Cole & John Cole of Barbour County, West
Virginia

by Lyle K. Corder

Much has been written about the Cole families of Harrison County,
Virginia now Barbour County, West Virginia. In most cases the two
families of William and John Cole have been, to say the least, confused.
But the more we learn about them, the more we realize they may have left
us with a road map to their ancestry.

Based on the small amount of research I've done and extensive information
provided by Paul Cole of Carnegie, Pennsylvania, I believe the following
to be reasonably accurate.

William Cole (1742-1820) married Elizabeth Hardesty 20 Apr. 1769 in
Baltimore County, Maryland, lived in Loudoun County, Virginia, and came
to Barbour County from Fauquier County, Virginia, about 1812. They lived
on Fox Grape Run and are buried in the old Cole/Modisett cemetery located
behind Adaland, near Berryburg. It appears that all nine of their
children and spouses, if married, came with them. All but Elizabeth had
married in Virginia before they moved west.

John Cole (1751-1839), William's brother, married Elizabeth Cullison 4
May 1782 in Baltimore County, and came to Barbour County about 1812 from
Fauquier County, probably with the William Cole family. They lived on
Pleasants Creek near the Taylor County line and are buried in the
Pleasants Creek Methodist Church cemetery.

We know that John and Elizabeth Cullison Cole had at least one child,
Elenor (born 10 June 1783 in Baltimore County), who married her cousin
Joshua Washington Cole, son of William and Elizabeth Hardesty Cole.
Elenor and Joshua were married 13 Dec. 1801 in Fauquier County, and are
buried at Pleasants Creek. If John and Elizabeth had more children, I
have been unable to find any reference to them in Maryland, Virginia or
West Virginia.

Other researchers of this family claim that William Cole's wife was
Elizabeth Simmons. I don't agree. Four of their children used the name
Hardesty as a middle name for their children. None was given the name
Simmons.

Elizabeth Hardesty's father was Joshua Hardesty who married Keziah
Simmons 6 Oct. 1746 in Baltimore County, Maryland. So, Simmons was
Elizabeth's mother's maiden name, not hers. Perhaps Elizabeth Hardesty's
middle name was Simmons. This may have caused the confusion.

Joshua Washington and Elenor Cole named their first daughter Elizabeth
Cullison Cole and their second daughter Sarah Hardesty Cole. Thus, we
have the names of the wives of John and William Cole.

I'm confident William and John Cole were part of the large contingent of
Cole/Coale families found in the Baltimore County area in the 1700s. We
know John's daughter Elenor was born there because her son Jesse Cole
stated on her death record that she was born "Elendar Coal" in Baltimore,
Maryland. Also, William's daughter Keziah married Edward Stephens 22 May
1796 in the First German Evangelical Reformed Church in Frederick County,
Maryland.

The names of the children of Joshua Washington and Elenor Cole serve as a
road map back in time for this family:

Name, Born

Elizabeth Cullison Cole, 1803

John Wesley Cole, 1804

Sarah Hardisty Cole, 1805

Mary Anne Cole, 1807

Nancy Waters Cole, 1808

Malinda Williams Cole,1809

Elenor Finacy Cole, 1811

William Alexander Cole, 1812

Joshua Washington Cole*, 1814

Elizabeth Scott Cole, 1816

Johannah Stevens Cole, 1820

Joshua Washington Cole, 1821

Jesse Merriman Cole**, 1823

Rebecca Rosel Cole, 1824

*Died young.

**Elizabeth Cullison's father was Jesse Cullison.

One only has to check the book Baltimore County Families 1659-1759 by
Robert Barnes to see the interrelationships of these families.

On page 260 in Western Waters:

"The surname Cole appears frequently in tax records found at the
courthouse at Elkins, Randolph County. Yet the only Cole who lived in
eastern Barbour County in the Cove Settlement was a Samuel Cole. He was
listed by Cornelius Westfall as living in the Cove Settlement in 1785."

"William Cole, who was a merchant in the City of Baltimore, bought in
1799 from John Holmes, of the city of Baltimore, 7,000 acres on the Dry
Fork of Cheat. William died May 8, 1822, while still living in
Baltimore."

It seems reasonable to assume that these Coles were related to William
and John Cole. Perhaps this is why they happened to come to Barbour
County.

Between the time they lived in Maryland and 1812 when they arrived in
Barbour County, the Cole brothers lived in Loudoun and Fauquier Counties,
Virginia. They may have lived in other places, but we have no proof.

The 1787 tax list of Virginia shows a John and William Cole in Loudoun
County. Previously written material often refers to them as "from
Loudoun County."

On 25 Feb. 1799, William and Elizabeth Cole bought 484 acres of land from
Elias Edmons in Fauquier County (Deed Bk. 14, pg. 315). The land was
located on the Alexandria Road near the town of Salem, now called
Marshall.

The Fauquier County Tax list for 1798 shows John Cole, Joshua Cole,
William Cole Sr. and William Cole Jr. The 1799 list shows John Cole,
Joshua Cole and William Cole. William Cole is shown as voting in 1799.

On 25 Sept. 1804, William and Elizabeth Cole sold pieces of the acreage
in Fauquier County:

Deed Bk. 15, pg. 359 - 1001/2 acres to John Cole

Deed Bk. 15, pg. 661 - 110 acres to William Cole Jr.

Deed Bk. 15, pg. 662 - 107 acres to Joshua Cole

Deed Bk. 15, pg. 663 - 56 acres to Edward Stephens

On 27 Oct. 1806 (Deed Bk. 16, pg. 548) William Cole Jr. and wife Anne of
Harrison County. Virginia, sold their 110 acres in Fauquier County to
John Pencoast. William Cole Jr. had already come to Barbour County and
on 20 Oct. 1806 bought 381 acres on Fox Grape Run for $1,500 from Preston
and Sarah Beck. (Harrison County Deed Bk. 6, pg. 338).

On 23 Nov. 1810 (Deed Bk. 17, pg. 767) John and Elizabeth Cullison Cole
sold their Fauquier land to John Shacklett. On 26 Nov. 1810 (Deed Bk.
17, pg. 768) Joshua and Eleanor Cole sold land to Thomas Rector in
Fauquier. On 28 Nov. 1810 (Deed Bk. 17, pg. 769) Joshua and Eleanor sold
additional land to Daniel Flowerrie.

William and Elizabeth Hardesty Cole sold their land in Fauquier County
on 26 Aug. 1811 (Deed Bk. 18, pg. 221) to Martin Squiers for $11 per
acre. William Cole was still in Fauquier County on 14 Sept. 1811 when he
gave written permission for his daughter Sary to marry William Corder.
(William and Sarah are my great grandparents.)

The land books for Fauquier County show:

1803, 04, 05 - William Cole - 486 acres

1806 - William Cole Sr. - 1121/2 acres

William Cole Jr. (son of William) - 110 acres

Joshua Cole (son of William) - 107 acres

John Cole (son of William*) - 100 acres

*We believe that the father of John and William Cole of Barbour County
was a William.

1807 - John's name disappears

Joshua's name disappears

1811 - William Cole's name disappears

William Cole Sr. bought 183 acres on Fox Grape Run, Barbour County, for
$500 from his son William Jr. and wife Ann, 15 July 1812. (Harrison
County Deed Bk. 10, pg. 270.)

William and Sarah Cole Corder came to Barbour County and located on
Hacker's Creek in 1814. Hacker's Creek is only a few miles from Fox
Grape Run.

William Cole Sr. died in 1820 and so did his wife Elizabeth Hardesty
Cole. His will dated 10 July 1818 (Harrison County Will Bk. 3 pg. 72)
mentions his wife Elizabeth, sons William and Joshua and daughters Keziah
Stephens, Sarah Corder, Johanah Modeset, Ealse Glasscock, the children of
Nancy McClanahan (deceased) and Mary Elliott. Grandsons William Cole and
Hardesty Woodget are also mentioned. It took two days to sell his
estate.

By 14 Dec. 1833, William Cole Jr. had purchased all of his brothers' and
sisters' interests in the property on Fox Grape Run. The old chimney of
the William Corder Sr. house still stands; another house was built around
it in the 1920s or '30s. This home is now being used as a hay barn.

A John Cole applied for a Revolutionary War pension in Harrison County in
1834. He said he was from Baltimore County, Maryland. The application
was denied because he couldn't prove his length of service. The only
John Cole in Harrison County at this time, of the necessary age, was John
Cole of Barbour County.

John Cole died 26 Feb. 1839, but signed a "Deed of Gift" 2 Apr. 1836
(Harrison County Deed Bk. 24 pg. 98), giving his personal property to
John W. Cole, Elizabeth Cole, Joshua Cole and Eleanor Cole. John W. Cole
was his grandson - John Wesley Cole. Elizabeth Cole was John Wesley
Cole's wife. Joshua Cole was his son-in-law and Eleanor his daughter.
He referred to Eleanor as "my daughter." John Cole's wife, Elizabeth
Cullison Cole, had died 14 July 1819.

Elizabeth Cole in Barbour County - Another Look said the Coles were
Germans whose name was originally spelled KOHL.

The children of William and Elizabeth Hardesty Cole were:

Joshua Washington b. 1770 m. Elenor Cole* in Fauquier, VA, 1801

Mary b. 1772 m. David Elliott in Fauquier, VA, 1800

William Jr. b. 1774 m. Anna Modisett

Keziah b. 1776, m. Edward Stephens in Frederick, MD, 1796

Alice (Alcy) b. 1779 m. William Glasscock, in Fauquier, VA, 1798

Elizabeth b. 1781 m. James C. Woodyard, Barbour, WV, 1817

Nancy b. 1784, m. Andrew McClanahan, in Fauquier, VA 1808

Joanna, b. 1786 m. Uriah Modisett, in Fauquier, VA 1804

Sarah, b. 1789, m. William Corder, in Fauquier, VA 1811

*Daughter of John and Elizabeth Cullison Cole - William's brother and
sister-in-law. (Perhaps their only child)